Modesto-area firefighters face scrutiny over ‘All Lives Splatter’ social media post
Two local firefighters are facing scrutiny over a recent Facebook post of a cartoon of a sport utility vehicle running over demonstrators with the words “ALL LIVES SPLATTER” above it and “NOBODY CARES ABOUT YOUR PROTEST” below it.
The post comes as demonstrators across the United States — including in Stanislaus County — protest the May 25 death of George Floyd, a black man who died in the custody of Minneapolis police.
One firefighter is with the Modesto Fire Department; the other is with the West Stanislaus County Fire Protection District. Several people provided The Bee with screenshots of the Facebook post and those who responded to it.
The cartoon is a meme that has gotten public officials and public employees across the country in trouble since at least 2017. For instance, a West Virginia volunteer fire chief was removed from a state fire commission this month over his social media posts, including one of a photo of the chief in a T-shirt with the “ALL LIVES SPLATTER” cartoon on it, according to a West Virginia newspaper.
Locally, complaints were lodged with the Riverbank Unified School District after a teacher there reportedly shared the meme among others. That teacher has since submitted a letter of retirement, Superintendent Christine Facella said in an email Wednesday.
The meme is offensive to many because it mocks the Black Lives Matter movement and comes at a time of renewed calls for the end of police mistreatment of black people and systemic racism.
Waterford Councilwoman Lise Talbott said she’s concerned that the popularity of meme among some first responders could point to a larger cultural problem and an environment in which others who find the meme offensive may be reluctant to speak up.
“This is obviously being spread among those social circles,” she said. “They see it as funny and OK. How are we to expect that there are not more bad apples?”
West Stanislaus Fire Chief Jeff Gregory confirmed his firefighter is a battalion chief and one of the department’s volunteers and has been disciplined.
“The West Stanislaus County Fire District has an outstanding relationship with the people of the district,” Gregory said in an email. “Our members are sworn to serve and protect. We were made aware of a Facebook post by one of our members that was insensitive.”
Suspended from duty
“We immediately reached out to the member and had him remove the post. He has since been suspended from duty and (is) being assigned diversity sensitivity training. The West Stanislaus Fire District values our community and its diversity as it continues to grow.”
The district has six fire stations serving about 10,000 residents, in such communities as Newman, Westley and Crows Landing. It is staffed primarily by volunteers, who receive $10 for each call they respond to.
Modesto Fire Chief Alan Ernst said his department will investigate the complaint it received over the weekend that one of its firefighters clicked on the Facebook like icon, allegedly showing support of the post.
Ernst declined to name the firefighter or give his rank, such as whether he is an engineer or captain, saying it was a personnel matter. Ernst said Monday the firefighter would be placed on paid leave once he returned to duty while the department conducted the investigation.
Ernst said this allegedly happened while the firefighter was off duty but said he could not say more because of his role in the investigation of recommending potential discipline once the inquiry is completed.
Gregory said the battalion chief is a longtime and valued volunteer who has worked his way up the ranks. “He does regret what he did, and I think he learned a good lesson,” Gregory said in an email. One of the people who provided The Bee with the screenshots of the post said the battalion chief shared the post.
Neither the Modesto firefighter — who The Bee verified is a fire captain — nor the West Stanislaus battalion chief responded to requests from comment from The Bee.
What does it mean to click ‘like’?
Public officials and employees need to use caution when exercising their First Amendment rights, said Rex Osborn, a retired Manteca Police Department spokesman who trains public officials and employees in nonverbal leadership.
“They still have freedom of speech, but we tell them they have to walk a fine line because of the public’s perception,” Osborn said.
He said that ranges from body language to social media and how the public perceives those messages.
Osborn said he has never heard of someone getting in trouble for liking a Facebook post. “Like is very ambiguous,” he said. “It’s hard to know the person’s state of mind and what they meant.”
He said does clicking on Facebook’s like icon mean someone is acknowledging a post or that the person wholeheartedly agrees with it or was the click a mistake? “The interpretation of a like is the hard part. And it’s too easy to do.”
This story was originally published June 10, 2020 at 12:39 PM.
